Eoldable crate



H. HARSH.

FOLDABLE CRATE.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 2, 1919.

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Patented Dec.16,191 9.

UNITED snares PATENT orrrou.

HOWARD HABSH, 0F OSAKIS, MINNESOTA.

FOLDABLE CRATE.

Application filed May 2, 1919.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Hot ARD HARSH, a citizenof the United States, residing at Osakis, in the county of Douglas andState of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Foldable Crate, ofwhich the following is a specification;

This invention relates to improvements in crates, the primary objectofthe invention being to provide a collapsible or foldable crate thatisself-contained, that is to say, one in which all the parts are soconnected together that it is impossible to accidentally separate them,and therefore the-liabil ty of loss of any of the parts of the crate isen tirely eliminated. I Y

A further ob'ectof the invention is to provide a crate of this characterin which the various elements are so constructed as to cooperate inlocking the crate in both open or operative and closed or knocked-downcondition, andwhich is simple in construction, inexpensive tomanufacture, and extremely practical and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the various novel featuresof construction and combination of parts as will be clearly understoodfrom the following description and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved crate, with parts brokenaway to better show certain features of construction; and

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the crate locked in its operative orupright position.

The same characters of reference designate the same parts in thedifferent figures of the drawings.

In the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated, 2 designates abottom, which is preferably, although not necessarily, made solid andwhich has secured thereto around its sides and ends a base board 3. Tothe bottom 2, within said base board are hing edly secured a pair ofside walls 4 and end walls 5 and 6, these side and end walls beingformed of horizontal slats connected together by vertical brackets inthe usual manner. Each of the end walls is provided at each end thereofwith a corner post 7. The side walls 4 are provided at their upper endswith angle members 8, which project Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

Serial No. 294,312;

over the ends of the end walls 5 and 6 and assist in preventing such endwalls from falling outward when the walls are swung upward into open oroperative position. At the longitudinalcenter of the bottom 2 I providea partition 9, which is hinged to the bottom and is adapted to abutagainst the center brackets of the side walls 4 when the partition is inupright position. In order to retain the partition in its uprightposition, I'have provided wires 10 which are connected at one end to thetop of the end wall 5 and at the other end to the top of the partition,in such manner that when the end wall is raised to upright position itwill also raise the partition 9 and whenthe partition is folded down itwill carry the end wall 5 down also. '1

To the outer edge of each of theside walls 4 is attached by means ofhinges 11 a top or cover member 12 and 18 respectively, these covermembers being made up of lon gitudinal slats connected by brackets in amanner similar to the side Walls. These cover members are adapted tooverlap approximately at the middle of the width of the crate, and forthis purpose the brackets of one of the cover members are placed instaggered relation to or out of alinement with those of the other. Thelengthwise slats of the cover member 12 are omitted at theplace where itis overlapped by the member 13, said member 13' also'having a spacewithin the overlapping area in which the lengthwise slats are omitted,as clearly shown in Fig. 1,'for a purpose presently to be described. Thecrosswise extending slats or brackets at the ends of the cover member 13are cut outor'recessed, as shown at 14, so that when this covermember-is in operative position the corner posts at one end of each ofthe end walls project into these recesses and are thus maintained inupright position between said brackets and the angle members 8. The postat the opposite end of each of the end walls projects into and is heldin a similar manner by a recess 14 formed in each of the end brackets ofthe cover mem-v ber 12, all as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The overlapping of the cover members 12 and 13 is for the purpose oflocking the crate in upright or operative position and at the same timeretainingthe cover securely fastened against accidental opening. This isaccomplished by the provision of a metal strap 16 secured at the outerend of each of the end brackets of the cover member 12, the end bracketsof the cover member 13 being recessed or cut away as shown at 17 forpermitting these straps to project up through said brackets. A similarstrap 18 is provided on the upper side of the center bracket of thecover member 13 in alinement with the straps 16 when the cover membersare in overlapping position, whereby when in such positlon a lockingboard 19 may be slid through such straps, thus filling the space leftwithout slats in the overlapping covers and retaining the cover memberssecurely locked together and making the collapse of the crateimpossible. For the purpose of locking the crate in its knockeddowncondition, I have provided at each end of the cover member 13 aspring-pressed locking bolt 20 secured to the end brackets between theslats. Any suitable form of spring-pressed bolt may be used for thispurpose, and the base board at each end of the crate has a hole boredtherein which will be in alinement with the bolt when the crate is infolded position so that on pressing down the cover member the bolt willbe shot into the openings and thereby lock the crate in its foldedcondition.

When it is desired to collapse or fold the crate, the locking board 19is removed and the cover members lifted. The end wall 5 is then pushedinwardl and, owing to its wire connection with t e center partition,carries the latter down with it. The opposite end wall 6 is then foldedinwardly, after which the side wall carrying the cover member 12 isfolded inwardly, the board 19 having been passed through the straps 16so as to be retained thereby. Lastly, the opposite side wall carryingthe cover member 13 is folded down into the base board, thespringpressed bolts carried thereby projecting into the holes in thebase board and securely locking the crate in its knocked-down condition.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a crate which ispractically a unitary structure, the parts being so connected that lossis impossible, the members cooperating to securely lock the crate in itsupright position, and which when locked in its knocked-clown conditionis very small and compact, thereby occupying but little storage spaceand producing a crate which is easy to handle and adapted to be quicklyset up for use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A foldable crate, comprising a bottom, side and end walls hinged tosaid bottom, a dividing partition hinged to said bottom, meansconnecting said partition with one of said end walls whereby said endwall and partition are swung in unison, a pair of overlapping covers onehinged to each of said side walls, means carried by said covers forretaining said end walls in upright position, and cooperating means alsocarried by said covers for locking the same in covering position.

2. A foldable crate, comprising a bottom, side and end walls hinged tosaid bottom, said end walls being provided with corner posts, a pair .ofoverlapping covers one hinged to each of said side walls, said coversbeing provided with recesses for receiving the upper ends of said cornerposts when in upright position, and cooperating means carried by saidcovers for locking the same in overlapping position.

3. A foldable crate, comprising a bottom, side and end walls hinged tosaid bottom, said end walls being provided with corner posts, a pair ofoverlapping covers one hinged to each of said side walls, said coversbeing provided with recesses for receiving the upper ends of said cornerposts when in upright position, the overlapping portions of said coversbeing provided with alined guides for retaining a member in position forlocking said covers in overlapped relation.

4. A foldable crate, comprising a bottom provided with a base boardextending therearound, side and end walls hinged to said bottom, adividing partition hinged to said bottom, means connecting the dividingpartition and one of the end walls for holding the partition and endwall in elevated and spaced relation, a pair of covers one hinged toeach of said side walls, all of said hinged members being adapted to befolded on said bottom within said base board.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HOWARD HARSH.

Witnesses:

H. A. CHAPMAN, CLYDE W. LONG.

